CHENNAI: Clad in a red colour shirt and lungi, two elderly coolies were anxiously waiting on the platform of the Park Railway Station at around 3.15 pm, on a Wednesday evening. When the Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train reached the busy station, the duo zipped into the compartment to transfer the body of a man. Blood dripped from his feet, as he was rushed to the adjacent Government General Hospital for treatment. The 29-year-old victim, identified as Ramesh from Gudiyattam, was able to get immediate medical attention, thanks to a motorman, who noticed him lying in a pool of blood off the tracks near Nungambakkam railway station. Ramesh had been hit by another train while trying to cross the railway tracks. The motorman kept his train halted for a while until the injured man was taken away. Motormen operating trains on the suburban routes in Chennai frequently encounter such accidents. Every time an unmindful trespasser crosses the railway track, not only does he risk his life to save a few minutes, but he also ensures that the blood pressure of that unlucky motorman in the EMU shoots up."When we see somebody crossing from inside the cabin, we would rather pray for their safety," an experienced motorman said. "We try to alert them by repeatedly honking and even shouting to ensure that they move away from the track. Almost 99.9 per cent of people respond to our warnings and only 0.1 per cent are hit by the trains," another EMU driver observed. During the last one year (2011), a total number of 826 people had lost their lives in this fashion. Two fiftysix persons were injured (upto November), while trying to cross railway tracks. Motormen also underline that if they ever run over someone, they get nightmares of the tragedy whenever they cross the accident spot for at least a month. "Whenever we drive through the 'accident' spot, the trauma keeps on coming back to us since a human being lost his life," they said. As far as suicides are concerned, those attempting the extreme step, take the final leap onto the tracks, at the last possible moment. According to a motorman, suicides on the railway track are nothing like the way they are shown in movies. A person with an intention to commit suicide will wait near the track and jump only when the train comes closer to him, the Loco staff added. At times, motormen are also abused for halting trains, after noticing strangers walking across tracks with an intention to commit suicide by lying across the track. Five days back, an EMU train was halted by a motorman near Tiruvallur, after he sensed that somebody was planning to commit suicide. "As soon as I stopped the train, the furious stranger came near the cab and abused me with filthy words for my act. There have been a few instances of people changing their mind in a fraction of a second after coming to the track to commit suicide," the motorman, who drove the train said. When contacted, S Anantharaman, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai Division, Southern Railway appealed to people not to trespass. The hearts of motormen skip a beat when they notice trespassers on railway tracks, he observed.
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